ASEAN Focus: Thai Coconut, Singapore's SnackRight, ASEAN sustainable agriculture and more feature in our round-up

Squid games: Thai Coconut expands horizons beyond beverages to enter plant-based foods sector​

Coconut specialist Thai Coconut is expanding its horizons beyond its traditional milk and coconut water strongholds to enter the alternative protein sector, including with plant-based calamari.

Thai Coconut is best known for its beverages made from coconut milk or coconut water, but with the progression of the Thai food and beverage industry the firm has decided to step out of its comfort zone.

“The idea was that we wanted to expand and increase our product range, but still base our products on coconut,”​ Thai Coconut Strategic Marketing Manager Sirikanya Pushpavesa told FoodNavigator-Asia​ at the recent ThaiFex Anuga Asia 2023 event in Bangkok.

Singapore’s SnackRight prioritises boosting of product shelf-life to better appeal to major retailers​

Healthy snack brand SnackRight is seeking to withstand wider economic uncertainties by focusing on product improvement and shelf-life extension, in order to increase its sales channels.

The company is working with various retailers in Singapore to extend its reach on the mass market. Its products are currently available on its website, and local e-commerce platforms like Shopee and Lazada.

“The current shelf life of our products is about six months. We are looking to improve that​ — such as adding nitrogen and aluminium foil into the packaging — so that we can have them in more retail outlets like FairPrice Finest and Cold Storage. This is our goal for 2023,"​ said the firm.

Trust as important as tech: How to convince SEA smallholders to drive climate-smart farming​

Innovators in the South East Asia ag-tech space need to devote as much time and resources into building trust among smallholder farmers as they do on developing their products, if climate-smart practices are to be more widely adopted.

Recent years has seen a huge way of digital and tech innovations across the globe – many pioneered by start-ups – to help farmers adopt more climate friendly practices and minimise risk to their businesses from climate change.

From waste to wonder: Upcycled products gaining traction with APAC food firms keen to maximise processing potential​

The upcycling of food waste to make new products from staple foods to snacks is emerging as an increasingly popular strategy among food firms in the Asia Pacific region to maximise the potential of production processes.

Although firms created upcycled foods and beverage products have been around for several years, upcycling in general tended to be considered more as an ‘afterthought’ for sustainability purposes. But today, with the value of processing efficiency higher than ever, it is emerging as an increasingly viable strategy to help firms maximise processing potential.

New Malaysia data: Health supplements registered on the rise while natural products hit five-year low​

The number of health supplements registered in Malaysia has been on the rise in recent years, but those classed as natural products, which consist of herbal remedies, has hit five-year low, according to a report released by the country’s health ministry.

Last year, out of the 584 applications received for health supplement product registration, 451 were successfully registered. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the number of registered health supplements has increased from 424 in year 2020 to 438 in year 2021. Prior to the pandemic, 315 and 322 products were registered in year 2018 and 2019 respectively.

The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) under the Ministry of Health revealed the above in their annual report published on May 19.